Friday, November 14, 2014

Obama’s Veto Power and the Republican's Majority

By MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA

PHOTO CREDIT: ABC 7 Chicago.com

The American
voters have spoken, according to CNN.com.election as of press time it says: 53
senators for the Republican Party or the Grand Old Party (GOP) while 46 solons
for the Democrats who used to control that House before the November 4
election.

In the House of
Representatives, according to the same source, 244 congressmen for the GOP
while 186 representatives for the Democrats.

So what’s the
implication of this U.S election to legislation that will be passed by Congress
dominated by the Republicans that will be signed into law by a Democrat Party
President Barrack Obama?

If the president
vetoes the bills he did not like, then he has to return it to Congress where
each of both Houses overturned the bill by two-third votes to make it a law.

But the problem
is the GOP could not muster 290 votes or two-third from the 435 members of the
House or the 66 or two-third from the 100 members of the Senate to pass a law
at their own volition.

Just like in the
Philippines, a two-third vote of both Houses can overturn a presidential veto
into a law.

Here’s the
United States Constitution and its provisions written in a plain English - attention Filipino writers who have the propensity for high highfalutin!:

“ If he does not
approve, he must return the bill, unsigned, within ten days, excluding Sundays,
to the house of the United States Congress in which it originated, while the
Congress is in session. The President is constitutionally required to state his
objections to the legislation in writing, and the Congress is constitutionally
required to consider them, and to reconsider the legislation. This action, in
effect, is a veto. If the Congress overrides the veto by a two-thirds majority
in each house, it becomes law without the President's signature. Otherwise, the
bill fails to become law unless it is presented to the President again and he
chooses to sign it”.

With this legal reality, the Republicans could
not assert what they want best for them or the U.S populace by ramming on the
throat of Obama what laws they want to pass and see them approved through their
sheer dominance of Congress.

How about if the
GOP found the actuations likeTreason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and
Misdemeanors of Obama and impeach him instead?

Let’s analyze
the snap shots of the law that govern the House and Senate on impeachment.

Exhibit No. 1:
The House Committee on the Judiciary, by majority vote, will determine whether
grounds for impeachment exist. Here the GOP can muster the majority votes.

Exhibit No. 2:
The House debates the resolution and may at the conclusion consider the
resolution as a whole or vote on each article of impeachment individually. A
simple majority of those present and voting is required for each article or the
resolution as a whole to pass (and forward it to the Senate). Here the
Republicans can muster the majority votes.

Exhibit No. 3:
The U.S. Constitution requires a two-third majority or 66 out of the 100
members of the present Senate to convict Obama, and kick his “black” ass from
the White House.

Just like the
stalemate on the power of both Houses to overturn the presidential veto, the
power of the Republicans to impeach Obama lacks the necessary number.

These unless
some Democrats' Congressmen and Senators cross party line and help impeach the
president, or help the GOP overturned the veto of Obama on the proposed law to
avoid a political or economic schism to a former No. 1 economic juggernaut
eclipsed by Mainland China.

(You can read my selected columns at
http://mortzortigoza.blogspot.com and articles at Pangasinan News Aro. You can
send comments too attotomortz@yahoo.com).